Jun 11, 2010

Seriously, today is officially the 9th day since I arrived in Taiwan,And I'm still having jet lag, Somebody help please!

Anyways, it's been raining in Taiwan, making it hard to do outdoor activities,So to make up my lost fun times, why not enjoy a nice, elegant afternoon tea, indoor?

SALON DE THE de Joel Robuchon @ BELLAVITA -

I tried L'atelier when I was in Vegas,(L'atelier..How can I describe it, let's just say it's the cheaper "branch" of Joel Robuchon).It was Christmas eve I think,Of course, the price was jacked up during holiday season, And I wasn't too "surprised" with the food based on the $$ spent.

But everything deserves a second chance yep?So here I am again, similar restaurant; different place,Let's give it a try!

The entire place is mainly designed by two color tones: black and red, just like all other Joel Robuchon restaurants.You think he likes red??

Sidetrack, I do like the carpet -

There's a bread and dessert section outside the dining area,Sadly I couldn't put up all my courage and step outside with my gigantic camera,Not kidding you, but it's hard to be a paparazzi!So all I got is this sneak peak picture of the "back" of the beautiful bread/dessert section,I really tried! -

The set costs $1,200 NT, around $40 U.S., trust me, I don't eat like this all the time.Here it comes our tea pots -

Super heavy tea pots, must be hard to be the waiters/waitresses there,Muscle is a must. I picked Minty flower tea, nothing too spectacular.

Mango macaron -

I'm never a big fan of macaron, just not really into the texture,Saves me $$ in a way because most of the famous macarons are so pricey, lucky me.

Close up of papillotte (hazelnut chocolate cake) and coffee flavored macaron -

Papillotte was too sweet for my taste,I can eat very sweet stuff, but I think this cake's sweetness level was a wee bit too over.

However, the coffee flavored macaron was a success,Probably the best dessert of all the ones I tried that day.

Close up of mille-feuille a la framboise (raspberry flavor) -

The pastry is light, fluffy, and crunchy, not bad.But not THAT good that'll make me wanna come back once again.

My friend was hungry so she also ordered this simple and classic spaghetti with red sauce,Pardon me that I can't remember the exact name,The place does not allow taking pictures of the menu, unless for the covers only,Unfortunately, that's how I keep track of all the names of the food I ate...so yeah...Let me present you with....spaghetti with red meat sauce! -

Probably the best classic spaghetti dish I've ever had,It was flavorful and yet not too heavy,You can taste a slight aroma from the red wine, not bad, highly recommended.

I had highs and lows experiences with Joel Robuchon's creations,As a result, it's hard to give this place a set rating,Dessert was ok, however, the spaghetti was wonderful,Mmmmm.....